Memory in the Legacy
by pepperpizzapal
Summary: Eric is just a quiet boy from Cinnabar Island who gets dragged along on the Gym Challenge with his friends. On their way they uncover a dark plot that could disrupt all of Kanto, maybe the world. All the while, Eric has to struggle with everything inside.


"Eric, time to get up."

His calm, azure eyes fluttered open at the noise cutting through the sweet silence that, unfortunately, was necessary for sleep. It wasn't so much that Mom was waking him up this early, but that she was waking him up this early on his birthday, pounding so ruthlessly on the door to do it. Eric rolled onto his side, turning his back to the door.

"Mom…." he called back weakly.

"Eric, get up!"

"I don't wanna…"

"I was going to get you up two hours ago, and now it's already ten! Get up now!"

"No."

He threw one of his pillows at the door, flinching at the small but still audible thump that resulted of the collision. His mother apparently wasn't too thrilled with his attitude – time to call out her secret weapon.

"Fine. I guess I'll just let Sam come up and get you."

Eric found himself instantly wide awake as he stared down at the pair jigglypuff boxers he had worn for pajamas. He could feel himself already turning red at the thought of Sam walking in on him, in those of all things…

"Uh, I-I'll be down in fifteen minutes!" he hollered back to his mom as he scrambled off of the mattress, landing awkwardly on the floor in his panic.

"That's what I thought."

Eric sighed as he scrambled into his bathroom for a quick shower. Why on earth would Sam be here so early? She was about as much of a morning person as he was. Even for something like a birthday, it wasn't like her to skip sleeping in if she could help it.

About five minutes earlier than he had anticipated, the blonde was showered, dressed, and on his way down the stairs. He glanced around, wondering where Sam could be. It wouldn't take that long to find her, though. His house wasn't too large.

Actually, it would be hard for a tourist to even tell a house was there, hidden behind the Fire Stone Springs. Both were beautifully structured, crafted from fine, sturdy American oak, decorated in bamboo and shoji to give a traditional hot spring aura. Never would it occur to most people that the two buildings, like most of the rest of Cinnabar Island, were only four years old.

It was incredible, really, what had been accomplished since the eruption. Not that he could remember the eruption, since he was only eleven and living in Saffron City when it happened, but he could imagine. An island with a thriving city turned to barren stone, left alone for a year before it was deemed safe, and then...

Supposedly it was like people had built a new Rome in a day. Contractors, the wealthy, gym leaders, even the Champion all had gotten together on a massive reconstruction project, donating homes and businesses worth millions of yen to those who had been displaced. Eric's father had the money, and had jumped on the ball and bought the only natural hot springs left on the island, building a home and bathhouse on the property. He had so many plans for this place, but that was before, before he...

"Eric! Morning, bud! Ready to get started on plan 'Birthday of Awesomeness'?"

"Morning, Sam," he replied, his voice a little shaky from how she had startled him by sneaking up behind and shouting. "You seem awfully cheery. I thought you hated getting up before noon."

"I was too excited to sleep in. We've got a big day planned for you!"

"'We'?"

"Me and Garrett! We've been planning today for, like, a month now!"

"Actually, Sam, I was sorta hoping to just..."

"Just what? Work a little, study a little, _maybe_ go out for dinner this once?"

"Well, yeah, I-"

Sam turned red with frustration. "We're not letting you treat today like any other ordinary day! You only get one sixteenth birthday."

"Okay, okay!" Eric said as he retreated back a few steps. The way she looked at him, her glossy cocoa eyes shining brilliantly, her silky black hair falling down her back, a few stray strands coming over her shoulders, standing out so clearly against the white tank-top. How could he say no to that?

"Great!"

She grinned widely, before shoving something into his hands. He looked down; a pair of swim trunks, black with a silver 'X' across one leg. They weren't really his style - well, his lack of style, which was probably Sam's point. He liked to dress comfortably - Tees, jeans, and tennis shoes, like he wore now. His own trunks were just plain green, and Sam probably found that boring. Just like her, really, to give someone a present that satisfied one of her own desires. Regardless, he beamed at her and gave thanks.

"Awesome!" Sam cheered, before her tone oh-so-subtly shifted to commanding. "Now go put them on. We're hitting the beach!

"We could go to the beach any day, Sam."

"It's _July._ And I know for a _fact_ you haven't been to the beach yet this summer. When was the last time you left the house, even?"

"I went to work the register at the springs just yesterday."

"No, seriously, when was the last time you got out? You're always working on those damn pokéballs. _I _haven't seen you for three days! When and where?"

"I, uh, I went grocery shopping last week," Eric admitted pitifully, knowing she just scored her winning point. Without waiting for her to say it, he went back upstairs to change, returning a few moments later, ready to go.

Eric was fairly quiet on their short trek down to the beach. He was far too caught up in the scenery of the island. The reconstruction had been taken as a challenge to recreate the place as beautiful, and that challenge had been well-met. Many buildings were constructed out of the rock formed from the eruption, brilliant ginger red-oranges and subtle sooty blacks with hints of ashy gray. Obsidian glass adorned many things as a garnish, from fences to fountains to statues to walkways.

The greenery was equally as impressive. Stocky, wide ferns; tall, commanding palms; knee-high, wispy grasses. It screamed 'tropical', and all thanks to the efforts of some volunteers from a gym somewhere in Sinnoh.

The only thing about the island Eric might have considered 'ugly' was the volcano looming overhead. Except for a lone trail leading up to the caldera, the only spot on the island where wild pokémon lived, it remained untouched since the eruption. Barren, tar-black rock, bits of lichen growing here and there. It truly was an eyesore compared to much of the rest of the island. Not that the whole volcano was bad. There was one hollow lava tube you could enter near the base, and climb up to a place where the outside wall had broken out, leaving a perfect view of the ocean, the Seafoam Islands in the distance. Tourists didn't know it; natives left it alone due to the darkness of the tunnel. It was a good place to go to be alone, to think.

Soon they arrived at the beach, the Cinder Beach Cinnabar was so quickly becoming famous for. It was disputed how it came to be (the acts of a leader, a freak event, Arceus's contribution to the reconstruction, and more), but it was a work of art. Lavarock had corroded into sand near the shore, mixing with the preexisting white sand. The new sand was a mix of amber red and inky black hues, and very much gave the impression that the beach was made of a bed of smoldering embers. To add to the illusion, the sand tended to look pure black just after sunset, as if the embers had extinguished with the setting sun.

Eric sighed with contentment as he admired it all, even the volcano. He really wouldn't mind it, if he could stay here for the rest of his life.

"..ey. ..ey. Hey! Eric! Hell-o-oh? Hey!"

"Oh, sorry. I guess I spaced out," Eric said sheepishly as he was brought back into reality. Sam just sighed.

"I suppose I should know you better by now. So you didn't hear a word I said, did you?"

"Sorry."

"Oh, well. It didn't really matter, anyways. Just the secrets to the meaning of life and the universe and junk, nothing you'd find interesting," Sam winked playfully at him, before grabbing his hand and dragging him off in some random direction.

"Garret's probably already here! C'mon, we gotta find him!"

An hour later, when the two had still failed to find their elusive friend, Sam plopped into the sand, spread eagle on her back. She was panting from all the running back and forth she had done, and covered her forehead with an arm. Eric sat beside her, somewhat less worn.

"You're gettin' out of shape there, girl," he teased.

"Round is a shape. I'm happy with round."

"But, you're not...?"

Eric stopped before he went any further. Something told him that the you're-not-fat-yes-I-am argument was deadlier than taking a swim in Sharpedo-infested waters.

"You're supposed to say 'You're not fat, Sam', and then I say 'Yes I am', and then you say 'You can't be, you're a sexy goddess'. There's a rhythm to these things, man."

Sam grinned to herself as she was rewarded with a cheap laugh from Eric. She sat back up, resting her hands on her knees.

"So, what do we do know we can't find Garrett?"

"We hunt him down."

"We just failed miserably at that, remember?"

"We didn't fail miserably. We succeeded in the future."

"That doesn't even make sense."

"Hey, if _somebody_ was _listening_ when I told him the answers to the mysterious mysteries of things-"

"'Mysterious mysteries'?_' Mysterious_ mysteries'? Really, Sam?"

"And can you think of a word that describes 'mysteries' better?"

Eric had to admit he couldn't. 'Mysterious mysteries'. Yup. That pretty much covered all the bases.

"Meanwhile," Sam continued after a short pause. "Explain to me why 'four' and 'fourth' are spelled with a 'u', but 'forty' isn't. Doesn't that just annoy you?"

"Not really, no."

"You spoony bard, you."

"What?"

"I called you a spoony bard."

"I heard that," Eric stared at her blankly. "What is a spoony bard?"

"I have no idea."

The two laughed some more, and Sam rose, stripping off her tank-top to be in her swimsuit, a tasteful red-and-white one piece that happened to show off her (lack of) round shape nicely. It was several seconds before Eric realized he was staring. Thankfully she hadn't noticed his fixated eyes, and he was able to avert them and look normal when she turned 'round, saying, "c'mon! The ocean's just right over there! Let's go!"

After some good old fashioned splash wars, a sandcastle building contest (followed by a sandcastle destruction contest), and a sunburn or two, Eric and Sam were now standing in a line waiting on some cool, refreshing snover-cones. They had started chatting incessantly about nothing in particular, as they normally did, so the minutes it took to get to the snack shack passed quickly. Sam stepped up to the counter first, looking at the menu board more than the cashier.

"I wanna cone with custap and salac syrups, pleas- Garrett?" she interrupted herself when she finally looked at the boy behind the counter. Standing there was their friend, dressed in that awful beach-resort uniform that made him look like he belonged in a retirement home in Florida – the bright red button-up with white floral print, ivory Bermuda shorts, dry grass sandals. Garrett could pull the look off, though, having a deep tan and wavy black hair that fell in front of his eyes. The other two stared at him in disbelief.

"Hey there, Sam. Surprised I got myself a job?"

"It's not that you got a job, but that you got a job _here_."

"Man, I'm so sorry," Eric laughed, still stuck on the horror of Garret's work garb.

"Don't knock it 'till you've tried it," the shadow-haired boy replied. "It's a great gig, dude. Free snover-cones and all the beach babes I can look at, and _I'm_ the one who gets paid."

Eric chuckled and Sam rolled her eyes, before she suddenly reached across the counter and hit Garrett in the arm.

"Why didn't you tell me you were going to be working today, then?" she suddenly demanded, before putting some money on the counter for the food. "Do you know how much of Eric's birthday we wasted looking for you?"

"Er, how much of my birthday Sam wasted looking for you," Eric amended. "I was having ple-"

"Oh, quiet, you." Sam snapped at the blonde, before turning back to the unfortunately-clad boy. "Well? Why didn't you say anything? Oh, by the way, I told you we just succeeded in the future."

Garrett tossed his arms in feigned defeat. "It slipped my mind, honest." He turned and started spreading syrup on some shaved ice. "What kind did you want again, Eric?"

"I haven't ordered yet. I want pecha. And I'm buying separate from Sam."

"Coming up."

Sam pounded her fist on the counter. "Hey, answer me honestly!"

Both of the boys started laughing. "Stop ignoring me!"

A while later, the three friends were sitting in a rocky space, much like a cave except one massive slab of wall was missing, revealing the expanse of the sparkling sea below. Though the 'window' in the cave looked to the east, the lighting on the water was enough one could tell the sun beginning to set.

Sam and Eric had replaced their shirts, and Garrett was now wearing a white tee and cargo shorts instead of his uniform. They were joking about how ridiculous a girl they knew looked in her new swimsuit, and how they saw one of their teachers there that day. Sam was sucking on the remnants of a snover-cone, sticking her bright green tongue at the boys when she was finished. The light went down more, and the friends started to quiet.

After a while, Sam sighed. "You know, I really can't imagine what it would be like without you guys."

Eric and Garrett agreed.

"Or what it would be like to be anywhere but here on a day like today. Makes you wonder about the rest of the world."

"Yeah," Garrett said. "Kina makes you want to get out and see it."

"How hard would that be, though, to travel the world, or, even just Kanto without some pokémon?" Eric asked. "And considering we don't really have much money, even between the three of us."

"I'll bet we can do it," Sam said.

"Yeah!" Garrett jumped in. "I mean, we can catch pokémon here on Cinnabar, right? I mean, Eric, you make pokéballs!"

"And we can earn money from battles!" Sam chimed, clearly excited.

"Or the Gym Challenge!"

"And if we all travelled together…"

"Let's do it!"

Sam and Garrett turned, grinning widely, to look at Eric, who had gone silent. As fun as it sounded to leave on a journey, he didn't really feel ready to leave Mom all by herself.

"C'mon," Sam said. "Lydia will be fine. She can run the Springs by herself. She's a big girl, you know."

"Besides, do you really want to stay behind if Sam and I go on to have all sorts of fun?" Garrett added, a mischievous sparkle in his eyes.

"I bet you'd even blow way past us, taking the Gym Challenge. You're the one always watching those tournaments on the TV, so you probably know something about battling."

"I don't –" Eric stopped himself, looking at the faces of the other two. Really, he had to think, why not go have an adventure? One with these two should be fun.

"What the heck?" Eric said. "Let's do it."

**Yup, so this is the rewrite of my other fic_ The Start of a Legend_. Hopefully this version will be much, much better.**

**Technically, this is also a rewrite of _Memory in the Legacy_ as well, since I've now rewritten and reposted chapter one before I've continued, thanks to some suggestions by the wise Stolloss. (No, seriously, Stolloss, thanks a million. I think it's much better off now that I've added a *little* more plot into this chapter, revamped a few things.)**

**Now, HAPPY NEW YEAR! My resolution, you ask? (Okay, at least _pretend_ like you care…). My resolution is to update on a (more) regular basis, and this goes for all (okay, both) my stories. I also resolve to make this the first New Year's resolution I've ever actually kept for the whole year.**

**Until next time, thanks so much for reading!**

**~PPP**


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